Jen Kao Spring 2012: Backstage Beauty

Track-Girl-Meets-Romeo-and-Juliet Nails at Jen Kao

You have to love the clever concepts designers and beauty teams come up with (Elizabeth Taylor at the gym, anyone?) during Fashion Week. And for Jen Kao's Spring 2012 runway, the nail art inspiration did not fail to disappoint on the quirky factor. Models sported nail art that complemented the designer's "track-girl-meets-Romeo-and-Juliet" theme. "It's a very dangerous, lethal person with a feminine, soft side," explained manicurist Wanda Ruiz for CND. To get these ombré-style nails at home, Ruiz recommends you paint the brand's Inkwell or Oil Slick polish as a base, starting from the cuticle and blending out toward the center. Next apply a saturated color, such as Anchor Blue, Green Scene, Rouge Red, or Midnight Sapphire (which are the exact shades featured at the show), and immediately finish with a topcoat to diffuse the colors together. What happens next is up to you.